Did the Sacramento Kings make a mistake by not taking Malik Monk with the 10th overall pick?
The Sacramento Kings had quite the haul in the 2017 NBA Draft. To no one’s surprise, the Kings drafted Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox with the fifth overall pick. They then proceeded to trade the 10th overall pick for numbers 15 and 20 in the first round.
With those two picks, the Kings selected North Carolina forward Justin Jackson and Duke center Harry Giles. Both have the size and skills necessary to be successful NBA players and will be nice additions to the rebuilding Kings.
Based upon the Kings’ existing pieces, selecting Jackson and Giles makes sense. The Kings’ roster lacks length, especially on the perimeter. Both Jackson and Giles will step in and immediately give head coach Dave Joeger lineup dimensions he didn’t have last season.
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While the Kings have been dubbed by many as draft day winners, they may have missed a golden opportunity. Fox’s Kentucky running mate Malik Monk was still on the board at number 10 and the Kings passed on him.
Monk was touted by many as the most dynamic scorer in this year’s class. He averaged 19.8 points per game and shot and impressive 39.7 percent from beyond the arc as a freshman at Kentucky.
Outside of Monk’s statistics, his shot making ability is incredible. Monk has NBA range and can make difficult shots with a defender’s hand in his face.
Monk’s offensive ability is on full display in the video below. Monk poured in 47 points and made 2 clutch three pointers to seal the game for with Wildcats against the eventual national champion North Carolina Tar Heels.
Monk wouldn’t have fit in neatly considering the Kings’ current roster.. The Kings have former lottery pick Buddy Hield along with Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans and Ben Mclemore.
The guards listed above are all offense first guards and Monk is as well. There would be a logjam of minutes at the guard position and Monk would have definitely contributed to that.
But if you are the rebuilding Kings that should be the least of your concerns. The Kings, who are in the midst of the longest playoff drought in franchise history, should be more concerned about acquiring top-end talent than drafting pieces that fit alongside their largely mediocre roster.
Monk, outside of maybe Fox, would immediately be the best offensive player on the Kings and has the potential to be a multiple time NBA All-Star. No one on the King’s roster comes close to that upside.
There are plenty of reasons why the Kings made the decision to trade down. Monk’s size, defensive potential and their current roster construction would be some. However, teams having the most success in the NBA today largely focus on playing at a frenetic pace and scoring the basketball at historic rates.
The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets finished with two of the best three records in the NBA last season. They also scored more points than any other team averaging 115.9 and 115.3 points per game respectively. The Warriors and Rockets also both pushed the pace finishing in the top four in possessions per game this season.
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The combination of Fox and Monk would have allowed the Kings to score the basketball at a staggering rate for years to come. Instead, they took the conservative approach by trading down. They may be kicking themselves for passing on Monk if he reaches his potential.
*all stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com